Illusions and Lies
by DimensionSlip
Summary: DISCONTINUED. After a series of nightmares, an acolyte embarks on a journey of selfdiscovery in order to uncover the truth about herself. But a problem comes in the form of an irate swordsman...
1. Prologue

Note as of 10/14/11: I would like to reiterate a warning I posted in my profile. The formatting of the following chapters is God-awful (I think this website must've done some updates regarding the way the stories were parsed since I last dropped by). Content-wise, it's passable (not up to my current standards, though), but the formatting may drive you nuts. I am too lazy to reformat the whole thing. -Kaylee

Hi everyone!

This is my first ever published fanfic in this website. Well, I've written a bunch of fanfics, but I never actually finished them or published them.

Anyway, here is the prologue. If you hate reading prologues and stuff, you are free to skip this and jump to the next chapter.

Well, that's all!

* * *

Prologue

It was a dark, rainy night in the city of Prontera. The rain poured in torrents, forcing merchants to wheel their carts away and closing their shops. The residents of the city locked their doors and windows. The streets were empty, except for a hooded stranger with a bundle in his arms. The person darted from corner to corner like a cheetah being hunted down.

The rain started to fall harder. The stranger looked around, looking for something. Then, he spotted a building in the horizon. He ran swiftly to it and stopped at the doorstep. Next, he pulled out something from his cloak. It was a baby girl, which was sleeping as of the moment.

The man laid the baby carefully on the entrance of the structure, and started pulling out something from his cloak when the baby started to stir from its sleep.

The man immediately went to the infant's side. Once again, he held her in his arms and started humming a song. The baby gurgled a bit, and then started to fall asleep again.

As soon as she fell asleep, he finished pulling out a box wrapped in brown paper, and a rain-soaked letter from his cloak. He laid it beside the baby, and breathed a sigh of relief.

But his relief vanished as fast as it came as soon as an arrow landed beside him. He immediately moved back as another arrow came his way.

I must get out of here, he thought. He ran away, running toward the nearest exit of the city.

After several moments that lasted an eternity, he neared the eastern exit of Prontera.

Almost there! He thought.

But suddenly, a shout came. Something he dreaded to hear.

"Arrow Shower!"

He noticed the arrows and tried running faster, but it was too late. The arrows hit him squarely in the back.

The arrows that missed him landed on various spots on the ground, just as he collapsed.

He noticed that the arrows were Rust Arrows, with were of course, poisonous. If the arrows did not kill him, he knew very well that the poison would reach his vital body parts sooner or later. So either way, he would be killed.

He turned to face the direction of the church, thinking of the beloved baby he left there. Even though he could not actually see the church itself, he closed his eyes in prayer, since his vision was starting to blur anyway.

"Please protect her, K—"

But suddenly, the world went black.


	2. ch 1 The Mayhem Begins

Hi everybody!

This is the first chapter of Illusions and Lies. It's finally here! I'm going to publish the next few chapters soon (once I get to typing them—they're still in my notebook).

I changed the title and edited the story a little…

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story! –kaylee ishtar

Disclaimer: I don't own Ragnarok...Lee Myoung-Jin does.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter One- The Mayhem Begins...

Several years later...

An acolyte with long lavender hair and ice blue eyes was on-duty inside the church. She was trying to heal a brown-haired swordsman who just came from a dungeon mission.

"Heal!"

Her hands glowed a bit, but nothing else happened.

"Hikari, concentrate!" a priest shouted. "Try again!"

The acolyte nodded and tried her best to concentrate.

"Heal!"

Nothing came. This time, she closed her eyes tightly, in concentration.

"Heal!"

A few sparks came out, but nothing else happened. Now thoroughly annoyed, she shouted,

"HEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAL!"

There was an explosion (gave the swordie an ash-covered face), a mini thunderstorm came (drenching the swordsman), and a poring came out of nowhere and started bouncing on the swordsman's head (now thoroughly annoying the swordsman).

"Oops." The acolyte said, covering her mouth with her gloved hands. "Look, I'm—"

Unfortunately, the swordsman (whose hair was partly fried, now color black—thanks to the ashes) had enough. He exclaimed, "I asked politely for a heal, but what I get is a Heal Bomb!"

He stood up, cursing under his breath and strode off, out of the church.

Hikari, the acolyte, groaned. That person is such an asshole, she thought.

Shiroma, one of the nuns, came to her and said, "Hikari, you seem very out of focus today. Usually, you're one of the best acolytes we have. But now, you seem quite distracted. Is there anything wrong?"

The girl shook her head and replied, "Nothing. I'm fine. I think that I just need a rest."

She forced a smile and walked off toward their sleeping quarters, thinking about a dream that kept haunting her during the past few days.

------------------

Meanwhile, in the Izlude Swordsman Association...

A chocolate-haired swordsman was drinking a cappuccino. He sank into one of the couches and thought, "Boy, I hate this day."

First, he has been assigned to save someone in the Prontera Culvert Sewers. That "someone" turned out to be a pet poring of a merchant, which got lost when the said merchant went exploring in the Culverts. Apparently, the poring was afraid of people, so he had to chase it around the dungeon for quite a while, since it won't go near him.

After finishing the dungeon, he got really tired and went to Prontera. Seeking some energy and a Heal, he went to the church. Unfortunately, a klutzy acolyte was the one who "healed" him. But instead of refreshment, he got a nasty hair burn, an ashen face (literally—as in ashes...), and a poring to keep him company (but it ran away afterward).

Now, he sought medical assistance from the Izlude First Aiders (who fixed up his burn and wiped of the ashes from his face). He got a fresh set of clothes from one of his fellow swordsmen and a steaming mug of cappuccino.

So, he decided to take it easy for a while when something jumped on him.

"Aaaaaaaaaaah! Geroff me!"

He jumped off the couch, his heart beating a hundred times faster.

"Relax, Akiru. It's only a Yoyo."

A swordswoman stepped in the room and smiled at him. She had short pink hair, which was topped by an Iron Helmet. Her green eyes glowed with pleasure as the Yoyo went up to her shoulder.

"Her name is Setsuna. I just got her from the wild. And she already likes me!"

Akiru groaned and said, "When you go in a surprise me like that, it means that you want to ask a favor from me. What is it this time, Midori?"

Midori sat down beside him and said, "Well, I need you to..."

------------------

Hikari woke up, startled. She had been sleeping soundly until she had another nightmare, which kept on haunting her for several days already. Normally, she would go to Father Augustine and tell him about her nightmares, so that he could make it disappear. But something is holding her back from telling anyone. She didn't know why, but she didn't tell anyone about her trouble with that dream.

Then, someone knocked on her door. She got up from her bed and opened the door. It was Sister Lynna, the Mother Superior of the Prontera Sanctuary (note: "sanctuary" is another term for church).

"Hikari, I have something to discuss with you."

Hikari nodded tentatively and said, "Well, please take a seat, Sister." She gestured toward a chair.

But Sister Lynna shook her head and said, "Thank you for the offer, Hikari, but I will be talking to you for a short while only."

She took a deep breath and asked, "Have you reached a decision already, Hikari? I mean, about your life..."

Hikari suddenly remembered the other thing that was bothering her, before she started having nightmares.

When the acolytes "come of age", they make a big choice in their life, since they will be entering priesthood. They could choose to serve the church forever, or they could out into the world and help others. But unfortunately, Hikari hasn't thought much about the future. It was just a week ago since she turned eighteen.

At that moment, she weighed her options. If she stayed in the Sanctuary, she will not have to worry much about her future. But then, her life would be quite monotonous and very boring. If she ventured out in the world, she would get to meet a lot of people and enjoy life. But the problem is, she doesn't know anyone else outside the Sanctuary (with the exception of the store clerks and the milk man).

In the beginning, she wanted to stay in the church, but with her recent dreams, she was now confused.

But she made up her mind. She knows it would be dangerous and filled with trials, but she replied anyway, "Sister, I think that I would like to go out into the world. Explore the vast lands of Rune-Midgard. I know that it would be hard, but I want to do it. Really. I'm pretty sure."

Sister Lynna was about to contradict her, but she thought better of it. Instead she said, "Well, I understand, Hikari." She paused for awhile and asked, "You're really very sure about this, Hikari? I mean, once..." she trailed off.

Hikari nodded and firmly replied, "I'm pretty sure, Sister Lyn. Really sure."

Sister Lynna then said, "You could stay here for the night. Then, you can go tomorrow." She sighed and said, "If you change your mind, just feel free to tell me. But first..."

She pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and a moneybag. "Hikari, here's the shopping list."

Hikari looked at her, dumbfounded. She stammered, "B-but..."

Sister Lynna shook her head and said, "Despite your leave tomorrow, you cannot slink off your duties as an acolyte of Prontera Sanctuary." She saw the confused look in Hikari's face. She then explained, "Technically speaking, you're an acolyte of our church until tomorrow morning, when we initiate the priesthood ceremony. Despite the fact that you still have to pack your things, you can't escape your scheduled tasks for today."

She gestured once again to the piece of paper in her hand. "That duty includes this. And besides, they have a sale on dairy, meat and fruit products today."

Hikari took a deep breath and took the piece of paper and the moneybag from her hand. "Okay, sister. I'll do it."

------------------

"We're here now!"

Akiru and Midori walked to the town square of Prontera. Akiru groaned and said, "Midori, of all the POSSIBLE times you could go shopping, WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE NOW?" He moaned and said, "I'm really tired, you know. After going through that fucking dunge—"

Midori ignored all of his complaints and called out excitedly, "They're having a sale on dairy, meat and fruit products today. I figured out that I could—"

Akiru looked at her as if she was crazy. "In the swordsman association, we could get as much food as we want and drink almost anything! What's the point of buying food that we could easily get for free? You're wasting your zeny, man!"

Midori looked down at her feet, like it just dawned on her right now. But anyway, she smiled at him feebly and replied, "Well...we could use them for the future, you know...I mean—"

"But then, the food would be spoiled already!" Akiru pointed out.

"Oh...yeah," Midori said, looking at him sadly. Then suddenly, she perked up again. "Well, I still want to buy them, anyway. Besides, it's my zeny, not yours!"

Akiru could not argue with that. But he said, "But why do I have to—"

That's when he saw her.

-----------------

Hikari went into the bustling town square of Prontera. She looked around for directions, but she can't see anything because of the many people.

She decided to review her list again:

5 Dozens of Eggs

50 Meat

50 Boxes of Milk

1 Box of Apples

1 Box of Bananas

1 Box of Grapes

1 Box of Carrots

1 Box of Sweet Potato

As Sister Lynna instructed her, the boxes and the meat are to be delivered to the church. But she has to carry the eggs.

So far, she has gotten everything except for the boxes of milk. She was now holding her basket full of eggs. It weighed about a ton (in her point of view). She thanked the Egg Seller for giving her a discount (despite the fact that the eggs were already on sale; she knew all the store owners in Prontera and she was friendly with them).

She was about to head to the milk section when she nearly dropped her basket of eggs. Not because they were heavy, but she saw a certain person that she disliked.

------------------

Akiru gaped at the acolyte he met in Prontera Church.

She stared at him intently, her eyes showing intense dislike for him. But after a while, she broke eye contact with him and moved on to the milk section.

"Akiru! Get a move, will 'ya?"

Midori was waiting for him impatiently. "What in the whole of Midgard is taking you so long?" she inquired.

Akiru looked at her guiltily and replied, "Well, you see, there was this acolyte..."

And the story of his unlucky day came out.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, this is the end of chapter one. Most of my chapters will be pretty short compared to other fanfics (about 4-6 pages only when printed). But I promise that I'll finish this story! I swear!

P.S. If there are any typos in this chapter, please send me an email, or notify me through a review.

P.P.S. Please review!

P.P.P.S. I promise to type the next chapters soon!


	3. ch 2 Truth

Yo! I haven't updated in a long while… Been very busy over the summer and now with school work…

Finally! Chapter Two is here!

Disclaimer: I don't own Ragnarok!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Two-Truth

Hikari moved on to the milk section of the square. She tried to forget the person she saw earlier in the square but she was still shocked. She absentmindedly ordered milk for the church, forgetting to be polite to the milkman.

As soon as she finished ordering, she ran back to the church as fast as she could, while trying her best not to break the eggs.

--------------------

The sun started to set when Hikari walked into the church, panting. She carelessly tossed the basket aside, breaking some eggs in the process.

She staggered up to the sleeping quarters and ran up to her room. She opened the door and threw herself onto the bed.

"Boy, I'm getting paranoid in here," she thought. "The swordsman I saw in the town square can't be the same person who shouted at me this afternoon. Maybe I was just imagining things…"

She tried to convince herself that she was imagining things. But she wasn't very successful. Instead, she decided to think of other stuff to preoccupy her mind. Unfortunately, the only thing she can think of was the dream that haunted her for weeks…

--------------------

Knock, knock.

Hikari snapped out of her reverie when she heard a knock on the door. She groaned and reluctantly got up from her bed and opened the door. It was Father Augustine, the head cleric of the Prontera Church. He was a man in his sixties, with graying hair and a beard. He wore the usual cleric's stole and a Biretta.

Hikari gestured to the table in her room. Father Augustine sat down.

"My child, has anything been bothering you lately?" inquired the elderly priest.

Hikari paused for a while and sat down on one of the chairs, directly facing the priest. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and replied, "No… father…" lying outright to the priest.

The priest looked at her dubiously, seeing her guilty face, then replied, "But, Child, you haven't been acting yourself lately. You seem so…distant. Really, are you sure nothing is bothering you? I mean, before you go…" He trailed off.

Hikari thought for a while. Should I tell him? Or not? After much debating, she reluctantly replied, "Father… I had this nightmare. There was this man…killed…arrows…" She shut her eyes and shook her head, "No, there was this man…he was being chased by a bunch of people, killed by some arrows… I… I…" She burst into tears.

Father Augustine realized that the girl was clearly traumatized by the dream. He patted her awkwardly on the back and said, "Wait here. I'll be back…" He exited the room.

--------------------

Father Augustine went back to the room. He carried a small box with him.

"Hikari…this came with you."

"Huh?" Hikari gave him a puzzled look.

He took a deep breath. "Hmm…where should I start…well, it was a very stormy night when we found you. It rained endlessly for 3 days. On the third day we found you in the steps of the church. We took you in and adopted you. We raised you to become a God-fearing and generous acolyte. I've been looking for an opportunity to give you this…"

He handed her the box and a yellowing-shriveled up letter. Gingerly, she opened the letter.

_Dear Hikari,_

_We are sorry about doing this to you, but we really have no choice. Anyway, now that you're older, you can have these items. And_

"Huh? I don't understand this letter, father." She told him. "And why is the letter torn?"

He merely shrugged. "Why don't you check the box?"

She opened the box. There was a necklace and a ring inside. The necklace was gold and fine, with some sort of crest/symbol etched on it. She was about to ask Father Augustine what the symbol meant when she saw him looking at her in surprise.

She looked at him questioningly. He finally said, "I don't know, but all of us have been trying to open that box, and none of us have been able to open it, even when we gave it our best efforts…" He gave her an embarrassed look.

Deciding to ignore Father's revelation, she examined the ring. It was silver, pretty thick and had an encrusted ruby on it.

A note fell out of the box. It landed on the floor.

_Please wear at all times. For your safety._

Hikari was baffled by everything, from the torn letter to the weird accessories. Anyways she decided to follow what was written in the paper and wore the necklace and the ring.

She then turned around and happened to glance at the clock. It was already late.

"Father! Oh no! I have to get ready for tomorrow!"

She hurried to the closet and started throwing stuff on her bed.

Father Augustine exited the room quietly, without Hikari noticing.

When he got out, he breathed a sigh of relief. Making the sign of the cross, he murmured, "Oh God, I'm sorry for not telling her everything…"

Little did he know about the shadow watching the church…

------------------

Izlude Harbor: The Marina and Mulawin Restaurant

"Grr… Midori! Why did you choose this restaurant? I know the food is great and stuff, but my tux is so uncomfortable!" Akiru complained. "And what kind of name is 'Marina and Mulawin'? Where did that name come from? It sounds like some sort of soap opera…"

"Stop complaining and eat your food!" Midori shot back. She sliced the tuna belly in half and gave part of it to Akiru.

"Well, you are giving everyone the impression that we're boyfriend and girlfriend." Said Akiru.

"We are." Replied Midori casually.

"WHAT!"

"Not in the way you're thinking. There's nothing wrong with being best friends, you know."

"Oh…"

"I'm hungry!"

Akiru glanced at Setsuna the Yoyo, who was jumping up and down, trying to get Midori's attention.

"Here," Akiru bent down, offering his fish slice. The Yoyo looked at him disgustedly and Midori gave him a hard hit on the head.

"Ouch! What was that for!" Akiru moaned, rubbing his throbbing head vigorously.

"You idiot! Yoyos like bananas, not fish? They're not carnivores!"

"B-but—"

"Setsuna, here is your banana juice."

"Yay! Thanks!"

"Akiru slumped on his chair, swearing and muttering something about lack of gratitude. Midori said, "Look, I'm sorry for getting angry with you over such a petty thing, but… I guess I'm getting worked up over—" She stopped, a look of panic swept over her face. "Wait, forget I said that—"

But it was too late. Akiru asked, "Worked up over what?"

"Oh… never mind." She looked down, embarrassed.

"C'mon, Midori… I know you were about to say something…" Akiru insisted. "I know that something's bothering you!"

"Eh… well…"

"Midori…" he took a sip of his drink.

"…I'm going to be a knight."

Akiru choked on his drink. "W-what?" He coughed. "But I thought you promised—" He coughed again.

"I'm sorry, Akiru! I just got tired of waiting for you!" she exclaimed, nearly bursting into tears.

Midori stood up. "If you need me, I'll be in Prontera tomorrow." Not being able to look at Akiru, she left a bag of zeny (for the bill), took Setsuna with her and ran away.

"Wait! Midori!" Akiru shouted. But Midori didn't seem to hear him.

Akiru sat there in shock.

I can't believe she's doing this to me…

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay! That's the end of the 2nd chapter! I promise to post the 3rd chappie soon!

Only Filipinos will be able to get the Marina and Mulawin joke…

See ya!

Kaylee Ishtar

P.S. Please review the story… I will probably post the chapters more often if I know someone's reading my story…


	4. ch 3 Change

Hi! Here's the third chapter! I know that I posted this kinda fast, cuz I wrote this thing already a long time ago…

Thanks for reviewing my work, Cerca Versa and Zhang Kai!

I promise that this will be way better that my last two chapters! And this will be longer! Yeah!

There's gonna be some swearing in this chapter, courtesy of Akiru.

I don't know if I should change the rating, cuz there MIGHT be some, well, implied situations in the future… (nothing bad, but…)

I will be introducing some new characters in this chapter too…

Okay, here I go!

Disclaimer: I don't own Ragnarok!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Three-Change

The next day, entrance of Prontera Church…

Hikari walked out of the church with her belongings. She heaved a sigh as she tried to walk in her new dress. She was now officially a priest, headed for the outside world. With that job came a big responsibility: a pretty tight and slightly slutty uniform, what with the slits on both sides of the uniform. She didn't know who created the uniform, but if ever she knew she would like to get her hands on him. The uniform was really hard to walk on, and people kept on staring at her, partially because of the dress and partially because she was carrying a bag full of her belongings (looking like she just robbed a bank or something).

She already asked Father Augustine if she can have the same uniform as Sister Lynna, he simply shook his head and said that the uniform for adventuring priests and priests staying inside the church was different, and that was a rule he cannot break. Hikari left the Church, seething.

Enduring the glances she got from the townspeople, she trudged along the road and made her way to the inn.

After a while she finally reached the inn. She asked for a room and placed a bag of zeny on the counter. After signing the logbook, she was given a key with a label on it. Room 204. She went up the stairs and dropped off her things on the bed inside the room.

She thought of exploring the city in hopes of finding a party. The only time she remembered being in a party was when she was younger…

Flashback

As a novice, she was often boosted by Sister Lynna on the outskirts of Prontera, where numerous Porings, Lunatics, Fabres, Chon-chons, and Pupas. There was also the occasional Creamy, which was fortunately unaggressive. She remembered a time wherein she fought a Pupa (which she thought was dying), only to find out that it was about to evolve into a Creamy. She laughed a little when she remembered running around the field, desperately trying to get the Creamy off her tail.

After training for a few more weeks, she became an acolyte. That's when her duties begun. Those duties included cleaning the church, buying food from the marketplace and joining parties. She earned some money by boosting/tanking/supporting the party.

Unfortunately, she remembered quitting when one of the archers she partied with tried to make a move on her. After kicking the said person in the you-know-what and teleporting away (leaving the whole party stranded in the desert), she made a request to Father Augustine to remove her name from the list (which was immediately approved) of acolytes available to party with.

She decided to stay in the church forever until she had some creepy dreams and Father Augustine's revelation.

End Flashback

And so, she got out of the inn and started her search (nearly tripping on one of the steps…stupid skirt).

---------------------

Midori stood in front of the Prontera Chivalry. She took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.

---------------------

Akiru walked inside Prontera Castle. He took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.

---------------------

Alberta, the Harbor City…

There were 2 people selling things in their cart. One of them (a blacksmith), a boy with spiky reddish brown hair (wearing a Bone Helmet) and light brown eyes said, "Aoi, I'm tired of this. Can't we go and fight more monsters?"

Aoi (an alchemist), the girl with jet-black hair (and stellar clip) and multi-colored eyes (one was blue, the other yellow) said in reply, "Can't you be a bit more patient, Ryo? Let's just sell these stuff we made, okay?"

Ryo rolled his eyes and said, "You mean, the ones YOU made. Do you still remember that I HATE FORGING because it is a very difficult and tedious process which make my hands hurt!"

It was Aoi's turn to roll her eyes. "Yeah, whatever," she replied. "You say that everytime I sell my potions and stuff"

"Why don't we go to Prontera now?" Ryo suggested. "There are more people there anyway." And a big PVP (Player VS Player) room, but he didn't mention that to Aoi.

She thought for a while then said, "Okay, fine. Let's go there!"

And so they were off to the Kafra…

------------------

Prontera Inn…

Hikari lay on her bed, exhausted. She searched the whole city for party members, but was unsuccessful. She was thinking of her next possible action for the next day.

After lying on the bed for a long period of time and staring at the ceiling she stood up and saw a paper fall out from her dress. She picked up the wrinkled piece of paper and read:

RULES AND GUIDELINES

(for priests)

Priests should always wear their uniform properly at all times, especially when venturing outside.

Priests are required to do their ablutions (spiritual cleansing of self by taking a bath) EVERY DAY. (only exempted if you have a valid reason; you have God to answer to)

Priests are not obliged to party especially with: robbers, thieves, hold-uppers, etc.

Priests may marry but should be approved by head priest in Prontera Church.

Priests are expected to spread the Word of God whenever possible and should not hesitate to help someone in need.

Priests should be gentle, caring and understanding (unless you're dealing with a suicidal maniac—suicide pilots and bombers included, then you are permitted to hit the person on the head with whatever you have—preferably with Lex Aeterna).

The list went on and on. Hikari looked at the paper in disgust. Duh! They didn't need to waste paper on these dumb rules! She thought. She only took note of the second guideline, which reminded her that she had to clean up already.

And so, she headed for the shower…

--------------------

Akiru stepped out of the castle uncertainly. He looked down at his new clothing and armor. He passed the test, and is now officially a Crusader.

He walked on (with his bulky equipment) and was surprised to see a female knight riding on a Peco-Peco moving toward him. But when he saw the knight's pink hair and shiny helmet, he knew that no doubt it was…

-------------------

Midori gaped at the crusader standing in front of her. "Akiru? Is that you? You…you…CHANGED? But—" she was at a loss for words.

Akiru was also speechless. He stared at awe at the Peco-Peco she was riding and asked, "Where did you get that Peco-Peco?"

"Ummm…the Knight Guild…but crusaders have bulkier armor, so I guess they have to use Grand Pecos instead," she replied, pointing to the soldier tending to Grand Pecos in front of Prontera Church.

Without waiting for Midori, Akiru immediately rushed to the person tending to the Pecos.

"Hi. How may I help you? Would you like one of our Grand Pecos?" the Peco keeper asked.

"Ummm…yeah." Akiru replied uncertainly.

"Pure breed or half-breed?"

"What!"

"Pure breed Grand Peco imported from Gonryun or half-Grand Peco, half Peco-Peco bred here at—"

"WTF! Half-Grand Peco, half Peco-Peco? EWWWWWWWWW!"

"Nah, I was just kidding." The soldier replied. "Man, can't you take a joke?" he muttered under his breath.

"Grr…how much does one cost?" an irate Akiru asked.

"10k. Purebred, all set for fighting."

"OMFG! WTF? Ten thousand fricking zeny! That's enough for a weeks lodging at—"

"Relax. I was just kidding. It's only 1k." the soldier said, looking like he was about to laugh out loud.

"Oh… WILL YOU STOP KIDDING AROUND!"

Then, Midori started laughing hard. "Akiru—If you saw—the look—at your face—10k pecos—" her laugh became a roar.

After shooting Midori a murderous glare (and paying the soldier), Akiru was finally able to get his own Peco…

---------------------

"Two rooms, please."

Akiru and Midori entered the inn and went to the counter. The bored innkeeper then asked, "Is it okay if the rooms are FAR from each other?" putting a big emphasis on the word 'far'.

"Ermmm…that's okay." Akiru thought, blushing furiously.

"Yeah, we're just friends." Added Midori hastily.

'I can't believe she thought we were lovers!" Akiru and Midori thought.

"Room 204," the innkeeper said, giving a key to Akiru.

"Room 211," she gave Midori another key.

"That would be 2,000 zeny for both rooms. Please sign here." Handing a logbook to them.

Akiru and Midori paid for the rooms and started climbing the stairs. "Should we look for a priest to party with? Maybe tomorrow? I mean, one would be pretty useful, with us knights around here…" Midori suggested.

Akiru agreed, then added, "Especially if it were a female priest. Gotta love their—" which resulted into a hard jab from Midori.

And so they climbed the stairs silently and went to their respective rooms.

--------------------

The innkeeper consulted her logbook before closing the inn. She computed for the number of rooms taken and how much she earned for the day. But there were two entries that caught her attention.

Room #NameTime-inTime-OutSignature

204Hikari8:00am

:  
:

204Akiru7:00pm

There was no logout time for the first user of Room 294. And she remembered letting a crusader rent the same room.

Which meant…

The innkeeper immediately reached inside the drawer where she kept the keys. She kept two keys for each room; one of them was for the user and the other was a spare in cases of emergency.

But the spare key was nowhere to be found.

Which meant…

--------------------

Akiru unlocked the door to Room 204. He was surprised to see a purple dress neatly folded on the bed. His curiosity getting the better of him, he examined the dress and found out it was made of silk and it was the uniform of a female priest.

The previous occupant probably left it behind, he thought.

He heard some sounds coming from the shower. Forgetting that he was still holding the dress, he cautiously approached the bathroom. Silently, he opened the door.

The room was warm, as if someone just used a steam bath. Through the translucent shower curtains he saw a person taking a bath.

He wondered what the person was doing in the room, but stood transfixed at the sight before him…he knew that he was supposed to get out of the room and have a talk with the innkeeper, but…the person, was so…

When he heard the shower curtain open, he snapped out of his reverie and scrambled for the exit, but it was too late. The person stepped out of the shower, towel wrapped around her slender body, staring at him with her piercing blue eyes.

Akiru dropped the dress in shock and exclaimed, "YOU!"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh well. I guess you can guess who he saw, and what probably gonna happen next…

I tried my best not to make the last scene descriptive, lest this turn into an M fic. 

Wow! This chapter is ¼ longer than the last one!

Anyway, save your comments for the reviews!

Till the next chapter! Oh I'm getting better at this!

P.S. I'll try my best to post chapter 4 ASAP. I've written only part of it, having redone the story, and stuff…

P.P.S. Yay! I've been receiving more hits to my story lately! Thanks everyone!

Ciao for now!

Kaylee


	5. ch 4 Accidents Happen

Hmm… I don't know if anyone cares that I'm updating, but at least the reviews to my story say that at least some that care. Thanks to Skye for being my latest reviewer!

I've been recently bombarded with projects and stuff, so I wasn't really able to update in a while. The school paper also took most of my time (cramming articles and stuff). That article sucked up most of my time and creativity.

I also changed the formatting of the chapters (I noticed that the lines I made weren't showing…) and added disclaimers.

And with regards to pRO, I've been playing more often too, because of the 3x exp and 2x drop rate till November 30, 2005.

Priests rule! My priest is currently 66/37. Guess what? I changed at job level 40, unlike most support acolytes.

I guess I should stop ranting and raving already. I shall continue in the next chapter instead…

And now, I humbly present to you the fourth chapter of Illusions and Lies!

Disclaimer: I don't own Ragnarok. That's about it.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: There's a little scene here that may make some people uncomfortable, but it's not really that bad. It happens in a lot of video games and anime (and it's still rated T). It does not warrant an M rating, that's for sure. Just a clarification.

Chapter 4-Accidents Happen

The purple haired female continued to stare at him, her gaze unmoving.

"You have a lot of nerve showing your face here," she said coolly. "Pervert."

"W-well, you see… I was… well…" Akiru stammered, clearly at a loss for words. He started ratting off badly made excuses and slowly backed out of the room.

"You're not getting away with this, you-"

Akiru started to panic and did not notice the dress lying on the floor. He slipped on it and plunged forward, falling on the person in front of him (cutting her sentence) and as a result, the crusader landed on to of the priest, crushing her on the floor, and his face getting smushed on none other than the latter's breasts…

"Shit! You-PERVERT!" she screamed. And so…

Lex Aeterna!

SMACK!

CRUNCH!

POW!

"OUCH!" Akiru got up, tried to shield himself from her blows (but he was still on top of her), but then…

The commotion woke up some of the people in the nearby rooms, including the innkeeper. They were all at the door, wondering what happened. The innkeeper opened the door, which was surprisingly unlocked. The room wasn't in shambles (fortunately, thought the innkeeper), but when she looked in the bathroom (the door of which was wide open)…

"AKIRUUUUUU!"

Midori, whose eyes were blazing (think anime), entered the room.

"Look, Midori, it's not what you're thinking!" Akiru exclaimed.

"That's convincing," muttered Hikari, still unable to move beneath him.

Midori looked at him disbelievingly, obviously thought the same thing as Hikari. "Akiru!IknewyouwerealittlepervertedandstuffbutIneverthoughtyouwouldstooptothis!" she shouted, as if it were one whole word instead of a sentence.

The innkeeper finally took charge when she saw people trying to go inside the room and said. "Out! Out! Everyone go back to your rooms!" she shooed everyone crowding around the door. Everyone groaned and someone muttered something about 'people having fun'.

--------------------

Now only Hikari, Akiru, Midori and the innkeeper were left inside the room (rather, the bathroom). Midori pulled Akiru up, albeit harshly.

"Akiru. Explain." Said Midori stiffly, still frowning at him, gripping his wrist tightly.

"Ummm… Midori… you see…" fumbled Akiru, not finding the words to explain what happened.

The innkeeper shook her head and said, "Never has this happened in all the years I've been here…"

Before Akiru could object or say anything, someone said, "Umm… if you'd excuse me…"

Hikari's face flushed, embarrassed. She was the only one among them who wasn't, well, wearing anything resembling, umm… night clothes? Maybe not really, since Akiru and Midori are still wearing their uniforms and the innkeeper was the only one wearing an old frilly nightgown.

Still, she was in her almost-naked-except-for-a-towel glory.

Upon hearing this, the other three turned red and proceeded to step out of the bathroom. Hikari picked up her dress (which Akiru dropped) and tossed it in the laundry basket (since it was already dirty). She unzipped her bag (which was lying on the floor of the bathroom-somewhere at the side) and took out her night clothes and then locked the door.

But despite the locked door she still heard the three people in her room arguing.

-------------------

Akiru tried to explain, "Mi-do-ri. Look, it was just a-"

Midori countered, "Aww… c'mon Akiru! I don't forget the crack you made awhile ago at the stairs about female priests-"

"I was just kidding, you kno-"

"-and now I just saw you trying to make a move on that girl over there-"

"-oh my god Midori you have it all wrong-"

"-coincidence or not-"

"COINCIDENCE! Midori, if you know who she was you wouldn't be jumping in to conclusions like this!" Akiru cried out.

Hikari listened and dressed quietly as she heard the innkeeper trying to break up the argument.

"Miss… I know you are really pissed with your boyfriend-"

"HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" shrieked Midori.

"Look who's talking," muttered Akiru under his breath. A/N: See end of chapter 2 for more details…

The innkeeper shut up after that. The two continued shouting at each other.

Hikari finished dressing up and wanted to step out of the stuffy bathroom, but she did not want to risk causing another commotion (remember, she was just wearing a nightgown…). But since they had not plans of stopping the argument, Hikari faked a really loud cough to catch their attention.

It did the trick. There was an embarrassed silence among them and finally, Akiru and Midori proceeded to leave.

Which left the innkeeper inside the room. Feeling slightly stupid, she walked to the washroom door then said, "Miss, I'm really sorry about the fiasco awhile ago. Please accept this reimbursement of all the money you spent lodging in here." She pulled out a money bag and started counting how much she owed her.

She waited for a reply, but no sound came from the bathroom, as Hikari dared herself not to speak, for she might say something she will regret later on.

Feeling even more stupid, she said, "I'm leaving it on your bed." And she did, and finally stepped out of the room.

As soon as she heard the door to her room click shut, Hikari unlocked the door and almost literally jumped out of the bathroom. She wiped off the sweat on her forehead and breathed a sigh of relief. She cleared her bed and put the money pouch into her bag, and prepared to go to sleep…

--------------------

The next day…

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, yadda, yadda, yadda (you know how it goes). It was a beautiful and peaceful morning.

Unfortunately, same cannot be said for the Prontera Inn…

-------------------

Before the chaos…

Hikari woke up to the chirping of the birds outside her window. She stifled a yawn and tried to get up, but her body hurt all over. Then, she remembered that a crusader with full plate armor crashed into her the other day. Anyway, she muttered a Heal and her body stopped hurting. Then, she proceeded to the vanity desk beside the wardrobe to check on her appearance. She looked in to the mirror and saw her disheveled appearance. She forgot to take off the necklace, which resulted into a big dark, mark above her chest. And she remembered:

_Please wear at all times. For your safety._

It now dawned on her. Crashing into the crusader may have killed her, but due to the necklace she managed to just survive with a few bruises…

She decided to forget about that for now and concentrated on making herself look presentable. She fished around for her comb and was about to proceed with combing her hair when she noticed her appearance on the mirror change.

A beautiful lady with long, black hair stared back at her with the same piercing blue eyes.

That was for a split second. When Hikari blinked the person was gone.

Instead, there was a piece of paper, with the same cursive as the one who wrote her the torn letter (A/N: See chapter 2, again), and the same yellowing parchment, lying on her desk:

_Geffen, the magic city and the home of the academy of alchemy._

There was a rough sketch of Geffen above the description.

Hikari remembered Father Augustine mention that Geffen had a big and ancient library, although it wasn't was widely recognized as the one in Juno. She also remembered searching the entire Prontera library for clues as to her true identity, but came up with nothing.

She stopped thinking about Geffen when she saw a sword lying at the foot of her bed. Attached to it was a brown, leather moneybag. Of course, she knew who left it…

At first she was tempted to leave it there in the room. But her conscience got the better of her and decided to return it to its proper owner.

And so, she proceeded to comb her hair, dress up, then pack her things…

And headed down the corridor (with the sword), but heard…

--------------------

During the chaos…

Room 211 (Midori's room)…

"Midori, have you seen my sword or my moneybag?"

"No, but I think you should go and apologize to the priest! Besides, you probably left it there" Midori shouted.

"Well, speak for yourself! I'm not going back to that room!" Akiru argued.

"Sheesh… I wasn't the one who busted into her while she was taking a bath!" countered Midori. "And besides, I wasn't the one who almost killed her!"

"Akiru bad! Akiru bad!" Setsuna the Yoyo taunted the really irritated Crusader while sipping on her banana juice.

"MIDORI! It wasn't my fault, okay?"

"I know, but you should really apologize…"

"That girl is really homicidal! She packs a punch, man! She Lex Aeterna-ed me and I nearly-"

"YOU DESERVED IT!"

"Excuse me, Midori, but she was the acolyte that gave me a Heal Bomb when I just came back from a long treacherous dungeon!"

"And so? That's no reason to go and peep on people!"

"Midori, what do you think she would do if I stepped into her room again?"

"She would make sure to make you regret the day you were born and tell you that next time, don't leave your sword lying around when trying to seduce a priest." A voice said from behind the door.

Akiru groaned. "Oh no…"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, that's it for now… I guess you know who's standing behind the door. 

I hope you liked this chapter… I may not be able to update soon (because of school), but I'll probably update sooner if someone reviews. It really perks me up when someone reviews a story I write…

Just a little note, after THE INCIDENT, Akiru ended up sharing a room with Midori. No malice here. Promise. (just to prevent people from asking why Akiru suddenly ended up in Midori's room…)

I really wish to get more reviews this time around, cuz this will be the time wherein I'll be really thinking my head off, as I was only able to pre-write chapters 1-4. (if you get what I mean)

Reviews motivate me a lot and really pressure me to update soon (or else, maybe I'll face the wrath of my readers…)

Okay, I shall now sign off!

-Kaylee

P.S. If it's not much trouble, please check my new story, New World…


	6. ch 5 Of Thieves and Spiral Towers

Thank you to all my reviewers! Luv ya all!

And here comes chapter 5!

Yay!

And 3x exp's the best! My priest's now 70/40!

I'm in a very good mood today,

Responses to reviews:

Skye/heh. I'm glad you noticed the link between the chapters…

Zetheus: There's not much action yet… There's a little in this chapter, but it's just short… I'm still trying to develop the plot. (and besides, yours truly sucks at writing action scenes). With regards to knights, there's one in my story… Midori, remember?

P.S. Remember the blacksmith and alchemist at chapter three? They're gonna be here…

WARNING! Mild violence (guess who) in this chapter… And there's also going to be a good amount of blood in this chapter…

Disclaimer: Ragnarok belongs to Lee-Myoung Jin. Not me. Got it? Good.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 5-Of Thieves and Spiral Towers

Midori paused as she heard the voice from behind the door. It was THE PRIEST! (she doesn't know what to call her, as she doesn't even know her name…)

She knew that someone had to let her in, even if she probably wants a piece of Akiru.

And so, the female knight opened the door.

-------------------

Even if Akiru knew what was going to happen, he couldn't help but gape at the priest standing before him. It was hard to believe (for him) that the really sexy priest in front of him was the same (dull) acolyte who Heal-bombed him.

When Hikari went inside the room she caught him staring at her and decided to hit him on the head with his own sword. She brought it down his head and she was satisfied to here a loud crack. (hey, on the bright side, it was still sheathed, so it wasn't like Akiru was bleeding or anything… but it still hurt.)

"YEOWWWW!" Akiru yelped. He cowered behind Midori, who made no effort to comfort him or anything.

'What a loser,' thought Hikari. (okay, this totally contradicts rule number 6)

There was a long silence after that.

-------------------

Midori was the first one to break the silence.

Bowing down in apology, she said, "Look, Sister, we're really sorry-" not bothering to be gentle with Akiru, she grabbed him by the hair (which happened to be the spot where Hikari hit him) and also made him bow down "-for the incident last night. Right, Akiru?"

Akiru (still bowing down) was tempted to say no, but after the hard shove Midori gave him (and the way she held his hair) he thought otherwise.

"Yuh…" he managed to say weakly.

Midori let go of him (or rather, his hair). Akiru stood up uncertainly.

"And to repay you for whatever damages-" she looked at Akiru pointedly, "-WE have caused, WE would like to accompany you to whatever destination you choose."

When she saw the incredulous look on Hikari's face, she quickly added, "Well, we'll be sort of like your bodyguards and stuff…"

When she saw that Hikari was still eyeing them skeptically, she also said, "We're going to pay for everything! Promise!"

When she saw that Hikari was about to open her mouth to say something, she said, "And we promise not to be burdens."

Hikari was about to say something, but Midori started to babble on about being good boys and girls.

After a while, Hikari asked bluntly, "Are you finished yet?"

Midori stopped muttering random stuff and looked away, embarrassed.

Hikari continued, "Well, I just noticed that you were offering me all these favors, and you never even told me your names…"

Midori suddenly perked up. "Oh, well, my name is Midori. Midori Kirishima. And this young lout," she pulls Akiru, "is Akiru. Akiru Kisaragi."

Then, letting go off Akiru, Midori went, "Umm, mind if I ask, but what's your… name?"

Hikari replied, "Okay, and since you did the favor of telling me your names, my name is Hikari. Hikari…" she thought for a while, trying to recall her surname, as she never really bothered remembering it (only time she used it was when she began her search, and she hasn't gotten used to it, yet), "…Asahi. Hikari Asahi."

She waited for a reply, but hearing none, she continued, "Umm…regarding your offer…I'm not really sure…because…" she glared at Akiru.

Midori saw what she was getting at. "I'll make sure HE doesn't go out of hand. Promise."

"Well then… I guess I'll take up your offer…"

Midori became pretty happy when she heard that. She's always wanted a priest in their party, but no one seemed to be daring enough to join (maybe because of Akiru…).

Then, she said, "Umm…where do you want to go anyway?" and at the same time Akiru said, "WHAT! WE'RE GOING WITH HER?"

Hikari glowered at him, which shut him up immediately. She turned to Midori (she already had a place in mind) and replied, "Geffen."

Midori nodded, but then Akiru blurted out, "B-but… why… there?"

Midori nudged him hard, but it didn't stop him from continuing. "I-I m-mean… don't you know?" He looked at Midori, then at Hikari uncertainly.

"What?" both of them said at the same time.

"T-there… there… there… there are ghosts there!" he said weakly, even unsure of what he was saying.

Midori laughed. "Akiru, seriously… You still believe in that kind of crap? Aww… c'mon… you're too old to be scared of ghosts…"

With that she picked up all of their stuff, handed some to Akiru, then dragged him out of the room, Hikari following them silently.

--------------------

Prontera Square…

"Ryo! Watch it!"

Aoi shoved Ryo away, who nearly landed on her cart filled with her stuff (mostly pots). She shook her head then said, "Ryo… be more careful next time!"

Ryo decided to say nothing. Besides, he was the one who suggested they teleport to Prontera.

He told Aoi, "Hey, Aoi, I'm heading over to the PVP square! You just, well, do your thing…vending or whatever…"

Aoi said nothing, as she was busy setting up her shop.

Without waiting for her reply, Ryo went off.

But just as he was inside the PVP Waiting Area, he heard a high-pitched scream, which seemed pretty familiar…

-------------------

While Aoi was setting up her shop, she did not notice Ryo slip away and a stranger creeping up to her.

Next thing she knew, that stranger was already pointing a knife at her throat. He swiftly dragged her to a deserted alley.

The stranger happened to be a rogue. He had mousy brown hair, and was wearing the normal rogue uniform, except that it was darker and there was some sort of symbol etched on the cloth.

He whispered to Aoi, "Tell me what's the secret of making Poison (A/N: Acid, whatever) bottles (A/N: or potions)… or else." He gestured toward the knife.

Aoi managed to sputter, "B-but…I'm not supposed to reveal that… And besides… there's no secret!"

"Oh, really?" The rogue said dubiously. "But my master said that there IS a secret…now, be a good little girl and tell me…"

Aoi said nothing, shaking her head.

"See here, I don't have much time… Say what it is on the count of three, or I might spare your life, if not, I guess I'll just have to kill you and take whatever you have in that puny little cart of yours…" Then he added, "And oh, if you scream… you know what's going to happen…"

"One…"

Aoi tried to get a look at his face, but she wasn't able to see anything, only his mop of brown hair.

"Two…"

Aoi squirmed in fear.

"Three…"

Aoi could not take it anymore. She said, "ALRIGHT! FINE! TAKE MY POTION MANUAL! IT SAYS EVERYTHING YOU NEED!"

The rogue, still not letting go of her, asked, "Where is it?"

"There… at my cart…" Aoi managed to say.

The rogue fished around in the cart. Aoi winced when she heard the sound of breaking glass (and the spilling of its contents…).

Triumphantly, the assassin held Aoi's potion manual.

Then, he stabbed Aoi.

"W-what…" Aoi said in shock.

The rogue shrugged, then slowly withdrew the dagger from her. "I just said that I MIGHT spare your life when you give me the manual…whatever. Well, I just changed my mind…"

"You're… not… getting… away… with… this… Ryo… will…"

"You mean that boyfriend of yours? He's not coming here any time soon. He's been taken care of." With that he left, taking Aoi's cart along with him.

In great pain, Aoi screamed.

--------------------

When Ryo heard the scream, he knew that it was Aoi. He immediately turned and headed for the door. But when he turned, he saw five male thieves (as in the job class) blocking the way, knives bared.

"Shit!" thought Ryo. But since he was raring to fight someone anyway, he brought out his axe and said, "You're going to regret the day you crossed the path of Ryo Kunisaki…"

--------------------

"EYAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Akiru, Midori, Hikari and the pecos (the ones carrying their stuff) heard a scream as soon as they left the inn.

"What was that?" Akiru wondered.

"It came from there!" shouted Hikari, pointing to a side alley. She immediately rushed to that part.

Shrugging, the other two followed, dragging along their pecos.

They found a bleeding alchemist leaning against the wall. Her face was drained of color, and she looked like she was going to fall into shock.

Hikari encountered a lot of injured people, but this was far by the worst she has encountered. To put it plainly, there was a lot of blood.

She knelt beside the Alchemist, put her hands near the wound and started muttering an incantation. Her hands glowed and the wound started to close up.

Even if the wound was already sealed, the alchemist was still pale with shock. Hikari held her hand and asked gently, "What happened?"

The female Alchemist related everything that took place. "The person… who took… the book… went that way…" She pointed a shaking finger towards the direction the assassin took.

Hikari nodded, then said, "What's your name? Is there anyone we should notify about what happened?"

The pale alchemist said, "Aoi… Aoi Kosutero… Please tell… Ryo…"

With that she fainted.

Hikari stood up, then faced Midori and Akiru. She immediately took charge and said, "Both of you. Stay here and guard her. She has lost a good amount of blood… And when she wakes up, make sure she eats this." She went over to Midori's Peco-Peco (who carried her's and Midori's stuff) fished around her bag and pulled out a chocolate bar. "It will make her feel better."

If any of them found her instructions odd, none of them said anything. Midori just took the bar from her.

"I'm going after the thief. Increase Agi!"

"Wait!" Midori objected, but it was too late. Hikari disappeared around the corner.

Midori faced Akiru. "Akiru. Go after her."

"Wha- what? Why me?" he whined. He was not willing to go against Hikari's instructions (knowing what she was capable of).

"You're the one with the protective skills. Crusader boy. Besides, we're her bodyguards. Right?"

"Yeah…but…"

"Akiru! Just go!"

Akiru finally obliged (even if he knew he was going to regret it later) and left Midori with the pecos and the unconscious alchemist.

---------------------

Hikari scanned the area for the assassin Aoi described, but saw no one fitting the description.

Until she saw a person with a really, really fake moustache on the bridge, with a cart, reading a book. She climbed up the bridge and confronted him.

"Hey there! You guy with the really, really fake moustache! I think you have some thing there that belongs to a friend of mine!" Hikari shouted.

"Oh really? What makes you think-" the man started to say, but his moustache fell off.

His cover was blown.

"Arrgh! I know I should have killed her outright!" he said, then tossed three knives at Hikari. Hikari moved away from the knives, which narrowly missed her, cutting some of her hair instead.

Long purple strands of hair fell on the ground.

The crowd, which was busy doing their usual thing, suddenly stopped and stared at what was happening on the bridge. They did not dare to go near the bridge (even if they wanted to help her), seeing that the rogue there was really homicidal.

"If I needed a hair cut, I would've told you!" Hikari taunted the rogue.

This time, the rogue got totally annoyed. He started flinging daggers at her, in random directions.

"Take that! And that! And that!"

But thanks to her increased agility she was able to dodge them all.

The crowd cheered.

Until…

The rogue was gone for a split second, then suddenly shouted, "BACKSTAB!"

He was behind her, and was poised to strike.

The crowd gasped.

She knew she was going to get hit, no matter what she did. Backstabs never miss (pun intended).

Then…

"DEVOTION!"

A strange green barrier formed around her and the hit ricocheted from the barrier.

Instead, a crusader with brown hair took part of the hit, with bounced off his shield.

"Man, that was a hard one." Akiru said, wiping off the blood from his forehead, which was oozing out from a mild cut caused by the reflected Backstab.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And that's the end of chapter five…

As you can tell from the final scene here, there's going to be more action in the following chapters…

And I've mentioned all the surnames (actually, just random surnames I got from the Japanese dictionary and anime/video game characters) and of the characters appearing in my story (so far… there's going to be more…).

As usual, my only request is for someone to review, as that's the most rewarding thing I get for writing this…

As usual, I accept constructive criticism. Just don't flame my story with no basis (translation: there must be a reason why you're flaming me).

Thanks again for your unending support!

-Kaylee

P.S. So far, this has been my longest chapter…

P.P.S. In my future chapters, I'll start talking about the characters in my story… (just random stuff)


	7. ch 6 Of Thieves and Spiral Towers Part 2

Hey hey! I guess that none of you expected me to update this fast…

Ha. I could have updated sooner, but someone stole our phone lines (in the whole village) and so our internet was down!

Damn those phone line stealers.

Okay, here's my story… One night, at around 9:00pm, I was suddenly brimming with creativity, confidence, and inspiration: all three that you need in order to create a story (or at least a chapter of a story, if you write as long as I do…). I was able to finish typing up the fifth chapter and a chunk of the sixth chapter. Actually, I found the fifth chapter too long and decided to cut the chapter into two.

And so, chapter six was born! Or rather, the part two of chapter five…

P.S. For those who really want to know what time I slept, I finally slept at around 11:00. I would've gone longer if my mom didn't tell me to go to bed…

P.P.S. Has anyone read chapter 5 yet? I checked my stats and saw that no one has checked chapter 5 yet…

Disclaimer: I don't own Ragnarok Online! I just happened to play the game and really liked it!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Six-Of Thieves and Spiral Towers (Part 2)

Ryo wiped the sweat from his forehead. Five thieves lay sprawled on the ground, unconscious.

Man, I have to get to Aoi now or else… he thought.

And so he ran out of the PVP Room.

---------------------

Hikari just stared at Akiru. She did not know whether to be mad at him for not following her instructions or to be grateful to him for saving her life.

Akiru looked at her and said, "Don't worry, not much damage done. Nothing a good heal can repair." There was a little spite in his voice when he said the word Heal.

Forgetting all grateful feelings she had, she said in reply, "Umm, excuse me, I wasn't wondering how much that backstab damaged your forehead or something! I was really wondering how much damage it has done to your brain! Thinking that I'll be-"

Akiru countered, "Oh, yeah? Man, if it weren't for Midori I wouldn't have gone out of my way to save your sorry ass!"

Hikari was stung by his words, but she did a good job of hiding it by saying, "Really? You must really like Midori so much if you would follow all her orders without even-"

Akiru knew that she meant something else by the way she said the word like. "She's not my girlfriend! She's a girl and she's my best friend, but she's not my girlfriend!"

"And so? I didn't say anything! And anyway, there's nothing wrong with calling a girl best friend a girlfriend! Sheesh, get a grip on yourself!"

Now, Akiru was really pissed, as it was the second time he has been told off like that (A/N: As those who have read chapter two will know…).

While the two were arguing, the rogue faked a loud cough and said, "Grr… you may have ruined my plans, but you're not getting away with this!"

Instead of catching their attention, Hikari and Akiru continued arguing.

The rogue fled (rather, teleported away), carrying Aoi's potion book, but leaving her cart behind.

-------------------

At a dark alley in the outskirts of Prontera…

"Master, I have found the key ingredient to the poison."

"Very good. Make sure that plan A is executed at once."

"Yes, sire."

"And apply the poison immediately."

-------------------

10 minutes later…

Hikari and Akiru were still having a shouting match. But suddenly, a loud, ear-splitting whistle was heard.

They stopped arguing, realizing (just then!) that it was not the right time to argue.

A bunch of thieves and assassins appeared out of nowhere. They smirked at them and bared their weapons.

"Damn!" thought Akiru as he drew out his sword and raised his shield. At the most, he could probably hold them off, but they were too much, even if he had a priest with him.

He scanned the crowd hopefully, only to find out that there was no more crowd. They all fled, those cowardly chickens…

Two against many, that wasn't fair…

Suddenly, a blacksmith came out of nowhere. He was followed by none other than Midori and Aoi, who regained consciousness (also had an arm braced around Midori's shoulders for support).

Aoi let go of Midori (even if she was still pale), ran to her cart and joined the red haired blacksmith. She drew out a potion bottle, filled with a green, nasty looking liquid.

"It's payback time!" said the blacksmith, bringing out his weapon (an axe).

"Yeah, Ryo, it's payback!" said Aoi, clasping the bottle tightly.

Midori followed the same suit, by hoisting herself up on her Peco and drawing out her spear.

Akiru, grateful to see all of them, said, "Hey, thanks everyone! It's still not fair, but the odds are better!" and jumped on his Grand Peco.

Hikari did not know what to do, so she just shrugged and put on her gloves, not bothering with using her Chain, which was slung on her waist.

And thus, the battle began.

--------------------

A/N: Hikari casts the buffs at all of them…

"Kyrie Eleison!" She formed barriers around each of them.

"Impositio Manus!" She blessed the rest of them, boosting their attack power.

"Blessing!" A swirl of angels formed around their heads, giving all of them a good boost.

"Increase Agi!" (self explanatory)

"Lex Aeterna!" She cast this on the thieves and assassins, an angel sending a rain of swords on them.

"Magnificat! Gloria!" Hikari started muttering an incantation and eulogy.

And what happened to the other party? Basically, they were mincemeat.

"Spear Boomerang!" Midori knocked out a good number of thieves.

"Shield Boomerang!" Akiru did basically the same thing as Midori.

"Hammerfall!" Ryo stunned a good number of assassins, and started pounding on them. "Adrenaline Rush! Weapon Perfection! Power Maximize!"

"Acid Terror!" Aoi threw the potion bottle with the green liquid at the enemies. Their armor/clothing was melted, until they had… um… nothing on, and shamefully walked away (think of dog with its tail between its legs…). Aoi smiled in triumph. She truly caused a terror.

And how did the other team react? (rather, what was left of them…)

"Envenom!" A thief tried to poison Aoi, but was unsuccessful, as Aoi immediately tossed a fire bottle at him, causing a Fire Wall to form.

"Sonic Blow!" This time, an assassin tried to do Akiru in, but the Kyrie barrier absorbed most of the hit and Akiru had Reflect Shield on, so the rest of the hit bounced back at assassin, sending him flying.

"Venom Dust!" Just as the assassin was about to throw the poison powder into the air, Midori accidentally on purpose ran over him while mounted on her Peco-Peco.

"Double Attack!" (okay, this is a passive skill, but anyway…) A thief pounced on Ryo, but Ryo tossed some coins at him and went, "Mammonite!"

And how were they able to finish all the thieves and assassins? Aoi brought out one of her acid bottles and prepared to toss it at them. Just like that, all of them made a run for it.

But just as they were all about to breath a sigh of relief, someone shouted:

"Grimtooth!" A line of sharp spikes appeared from the ground towards Hikari. All of them watched in horror, as the spikes made their way toward her…

(A/N: Grimtooth is very unavoidable, as the user of the attack is hidden…)

--------------------

"Arrgh…"

"No, Hikari, just stay still!"

"Huh…"

"Don't move! You're going to worsen the-"

"Just. Hold. Her. Still!"

"YEOOUUCH!"

Hikari suddenly became alive when someone pulled at her leg. When her eyes flew open, she first saw Akiru on top of her.

SLAP.

"What did I do now!" Akiru shouted, holding his stinging cheek.

When she slapped him, she also noticed that she had a needle on her arm, which was attached to a pack of blood.

Hikari ignored Akiru's outburst and looked around her surroundings. She was in some sort of infirmary, and when she saw the big cross with Jesus Christ on it, she immediately knew where she was. And the stark white gown she was wearing which beared a cross on it also helped her guess where she was.

Prontera Santuary, AKA the Church.

"What…"

Aoi was sitting on the bed next to her, with Ryo beside her, sitting on a chair. Midori and Akiru were crowding around her together with none other than Sister Lynna and Father Augustine.

Hikari looked away, embarrassed, when she noticed Sister Lynna and Father Augustine. She's been to the infirmary a million times already, but not as a patient, but as a healer.

Father Augustine apparently read her thoughts. "Hikari, there's no need to be ashamed of yourself." He said.

Despite his words, Hikari didn't feel any better. Trying to prove that she didn't need their help, she tried to sit up, but ended up wincing in pain.

"Look, Hikari, you just injured your back and your leg, so take it easy." Said Sister Lynna.

Hikari remembered a row of spikes coming towards her, and that she blacked out. And then…

She said in a panicked voice, "How long have I been…"

"Umm… about 48 hours… 2 days…" replied Sister uncomfortably.

Hikari paled when she heard it. She felt embarrassed about the people crowding around her bed, waiting for her to wake up…

"Wait… but I thought you can heal wounds in a jiffy or something! Why am I still… I mean, you've handled stuff worse than this…"

Sister Lynna was about to speak, but Father Augustine interrupted her. "The assassin…I'm not sure, but he or she probably attacked you as soon as you got hit by his/her grimtooth attack. He or she probably meant that as a distraction, so that no one will notice when you get attacked…"

Sister Lynna butt in and said, "He also used a special weapon…"

Hikari was clueless. "What…kind…of…"

"We don't know, but it seems to be laced with something other than poison… More deadly…" Father Augustine trailed off.

At hearing this, Aoi murmured, "So that's what he was after…"

They all turned and faced her when she said that. "What did you say?"

Aoi blushed a little. "Well, you see, remember the story I told you? The man who attacked me was asking me the secret of making poison bottles. Right now, I think, everything is becoming a little clear… He probably wanted to know what would make a poison deadly…"

"Well, I have a question… what happened when I blacked out?" asked Hikari.

Aoi took a deep breath and continued, "Well, the next thing we knew after the Grimtooth attack, you were already sprawled on the ground. And you were bleeding so much…"

Ryo took over when he saw Aoi getting tired, "Okay, then Aoi said that we had to take you to the church, cause the people there, can, you know, heal wounds (A/N: Pun intended) in a minute or so… She told Midori and Akiru to search the place just in case the thieves left something…"

"And we-" Akiru butt in, but Ryo ignored him and continued,

"And so, I carried you all the way to the church. The priests (gestures to Lynna and Augustine) were kinda surprised to see you, but anyways, they rushed you to the infirmary and I put you on the bed. And so, when we took your clothes off…" Hikari looked panicked when she heard that, but Ryo said, "Oops, sorry. I mean, Sister Lynna and Aoi were the ones who did it…"

When Aoi noticed that Ryo was having a hard time continuing, she said, "Anyway, I noticed a big purple bruise on your left leg. Well, but it's not there anymore. Then, I took a blood sample from you (at that part) and found out that it was poison…but a different kind. Not the normal ones assassin use, but something else…"

"And so, as soon as I found out that it was poison, I tried out all my antidotes on you, but nothing seemed to work. Even Sister Lynna's Detoxify skill didn't work. Well then, I noticed among your bloody clothing was this necklace. At close examination, I found out that it was a locket. I opened it, and to my surprise, I found that it contained a bezoar (A/N: For those who haven't read Harry Potter, see my note at the end of the chapter). Knowing that you were poisoned, I immediately took it out of the locket and stuffed it down your throat…"

"After a while, the bruise started to disappear, and you stopped bleeding, but you still lost a good amount of blood. From that time onwards, we just decided to wait for you to wake up…"

When Aoi finished, Hikari and Father Augustine gaped at her.

"When I examined it closely, there was no crack or whatever…" both of them said at the same time.

Then Hikari faced Father Augustine, shocked. "You looked and examined my stuff?"

He looked down, guilty. "Hikari, I'm-"

But then (surprisingly), Hikari got up (even if she was in pain), yanked the needle off her arm (ouch), and stomped out of the room.

Aoi looked at them, embarrassed. "I'm sorry… Did I cause trouble?"

Father Augustine replied, "Look, it's not your fault… It's mine… I had no right to…"

Then, Midori said, "Look, do you think we should go after her? I mean…"

She turned to face Akiru, but Akiru was already gone.

"Oh, man… Where did he go?" Exasperated, she stepped out of the room.

-------------------

As for Aoi, Father Augustine, Sister Lynna, and Ryo…

"Look, Father, you don't believe me? Look at the necklace…" Aoi insisted. She went to the bedside table of Hikari, opened the first drawer, and pulled out a necklace.

Father Augustine brought out a magnifier and hovered it above the necklace.

At really close inspection, they saw that there was no crack.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

End of chapter 6!

Some stuff you should know…

When I write an argument between two characters, I can go on and on for a long time. If it weren't for my self-control, I could probably fill one whole chapter with just an argument between two people. I have a real talent for that…

Skills (for non-Ragnarok players):

A bezoar is a stone found chiefly in a certain animal's stomach (forgot what) and is said to have contained magical properties, one of which is its ability to cure ANY kind of poison.

Regarding the origin of my characters' names…

Hikari Asahi: Roughly translated, it means 'Light of the Morning Sun.' Doesn't make much sense, but I still like it… (her looks are based on how my priest looks like…)

Midori Kirishima: This came from my friend. She wanted her character in the story, and so I added Midori here… (but actually, in pRO, Midori Kirishima is an acolyte, not a knight…)

Akiru Kisaragi: A person I invented, partly for comic relief, partly because I needed another slightly main character… (A/N: Kisaragi came from FFVII's Yuffie Kisaragi, and Akiru came from my Japanese dictionary. It means 'punch.' Hahahaha.)

Ryo Kunisaki: Ryo is my sister's favorite male character name. Kunisaki came from Shugo Kunisaki from .hack/DUSK.

Aoi Kosutero: Favorite name of one of my other friends who doesn't play Ragnarok. I don't know what it means, but it is special to her, so…

So far, these are the characters I have introduced that play a pretty big role in the story. And guess what, I still haven't introduced the antagonists… leave that to the future chapters…

Okay, signing off:

-Kaylee

P.S. Please review, and tell me what you think about my story…

P.P.S. I have a feeling that there will be a Part three…

P.P.P.S. The chapters seem to be getting longer and longer… This was 500+ words longer than the last chapter.

P.P.P.P.S. Watch out for chapter 7!


	8. ch 7 Of Thieves and Spiral Towers Part 3

Here I am again! )

First of all, I'm sorry for the hiatus. I wasn't feeling inspired to continue the story for a long time and I was really busy with many things (including playing RO… SORRY!). And I didn't have time to write a story.

Anyway, I humbly present to you Chapter 7!

P.S. I noticed a lot of formatting errors in my past chapters. The asterisks I used to divide several scenes won't appear, and so I substituted dotted lines instead…

Disclaimer: I don't own Ragnarok Online!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Seven-Of Thieves and Spiral Towers Part 3

Unknown place…

"Master, Plan A has failed. She still lives." The rogue (in Chapter 5-6) with the messy brown hair said, kneeling before someone with long white hair.

"OMFG WTF I thought that you got the key ingredient!" that someone with white hair cursed.

"Sorry milord. That btch gave me a fake manual with the wrong ingredient."

"Don't curse that btch! Curse your stupidity you dimwit! That damn alchemist for outsmarting you…" he started pacing the room, cursing under his breath.

The rogue, bewildered, looked at him as he paced the room. "But I thought I'm supposed to curse my--"

The other guy stared at him furiously and replied, "Stop it you blabbering idiot! And you forgot the word sire, lord or whatever! Because of your incompetence this time I'm sending someone else to execute Plan B." He then told the name of the person he was going to send.

"Oh no! Not my sister please! Aww man! Can't you give me another chance, Whatever!"

"Arrgh, incompetent fool! My name is not Whatever!"

--------------------

Hikari walked out of the room, fuming.

God, this is too much to take, she thought as she walked down the church corridor. First, I get these really terrible nightmares, get assaulted by a perverted crusade, suffered a near death experience, then find out that a priest who has sworn never to sin has LIED to me? Father Augustine, of all people, actually told a LIE?

She absently reminisced all of those experiences as she walked, and her feet eventually led her to the garden grotto of the Prontera Church.

She remembered as a child that she used to come running to this grotto when she had problems, especially when the other acolytes started teasing her because no one ever comes for her during vacation time or whatever. And when the sisters came looking for her, they would always find her there…

Back at the present; it was raining pretty hard that time. Hikari, lost in her memories, went out anyway, getting drenched from head to toe (with the dress and all…).

She approached the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the center of the garden and did what she has always done when she had a problem: She prayed.

She didn't notice the figure watching her every move…

--------------------

Akiru wandered around the church aimlessly. God, where the heck did that bimbo go? He thought. And why the heck am I running after her? Sure, she may be pretty and all, but her personality sucks!

As he pondered on all these he came across the garden grotto of the church.

He then saw a person wearing a white dress (or what seemed like it) kneeling on some sort of grotto, praying. It was joined by another figure, then…

--------------------

Hikari suddenly stood up, alert. She sensed the presence of a person who was watching her. She whirled around and came face to face with a certain female knight with pink hair and green eyes…

--------------------

"Oh, it's you, Midori. I thought that there was an intruder sneaking about. What brings you here?"

"Sorry for… well… watching you for quite a while," replied Midori, "I just thought that it would be best not to disturb you…" She looked away, embarrassed.

Hikari then realized that while Midori was dry even when she was standing in the rain (the water just ran off her armor), she was soaking wet in the hospital gown with it sticking to her skin. Her face flushed red, then she said, "Sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable… But it's ok to look. I mean, you're a girl after all--"

Midori then drew the spear that was strapped to her back then said, "Hikari, do you sense something else… here in this courtyard?"

"Yeah, but I thought that it was--"

Hikari then felt dizzy (she just well… recovered from the near death incident after all) and felt her legs give way. She then collapsed on the grass and landed on her knees.

"Midori…" she said weakly, "I'm feeling a little woozy here… I think I--"

Midori was about to reply when something grazed her cheek. An arrow with a narrow and sharp pointed head was now embedded on the wall of the courtyard.

Blood started to flow from the cut made by the arrow. For some reason it started to sting so much. Midori was accustomed to having cuts even worse than this but this cut was more painful than the others. It might be because of the rain, but then, she has also experienced bleeding on heavier rains than this, so…

Midori tried to hide the pain that she was feeling as she said, "Hikari… use Ruwach… there's a thief hiding nearby… or maybe an Assassin… or a --"

Hikari shook her head and said, "No… I have to heal you first… You're bleeding so much. And besides…"

Midori interrupted her. "No, I'm totally fine. It's just a cut." But her face totally betrayed what she was saying, and she cringed in pain.

"Meh, you're lying. HEAL!"

Midori's wound started closing up, but then it opened again.

"Aaargh… I need more energy… HEAL!"

The cut was about to close fully, but it opened once more.

"Oh. No. I'm out of energy…" Hikari's vision started to blur. "Careful… Midori… Someone has broken through the barrier…"

"What barrier?" Midori asked, puzzled. "C'mon, Hikari, you can't faint now! Hang on!"

"The… Ruwach… Barrier…" and she lost consciousness.

--------------------

Akiru was watching all of this drama from his happy little spot in the deserted corridor. When he saw the arrow graze Midori he was about to rush in, but he hesitated because Midori might think that he was becoming a worrywart again, and thinking she wasn't strong enough just because she was a girl.

In truth, Midori has endured more than him, both physically and emotionally, he thought.

But when he saw Hikari (the white figure) healing Midori twice but accomplishing nothing, and Midori looking pained, he now decided it was time to step in.

Unfortunately he was greeted by a force field that did not allow him to enter the grotto.

--------------------

Midori racked her brains, thinking what to do next. Hikari has collapsed, so I'm pretty much alone here. She thought. Except for another person who I can't see. And Hikari mentioned a ruwach barrier… what was it again? She then remembered in her swordie classes that a ruwach barrier was something that uncloaked people when they enter a certain area and prevented them from using such skills in the vicinity of the barrier. Advanced versions even uncloak Stalkers using Chase Walk.

As she was dwelling on this, another arrow whizzed by. But this time, she was prepared, deflecting the arrow using her spear.

"Show yourself!" Midori demanded, getting on her guard.

"Hmph. Silly girl." A female stalker with light brown hair and dark brown eyes materialized a few feet from Midori.

As soon as she showed herself, Midori threw her spear at her. She did not like being called a silly girl.

The stalker, expecting that move, dodged the spear easily. "Just as I expected, Midoriiii. Naïve as usual."

"Do I know you?" snapped Midori. She was getting really annoyed for some reason, but right now her priority was to get herself and Hikari out of here.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce myself. Haha. Just call me Rydia. Might as well know the person who would kill you. And gave you that really ugly black scar on your cheek." She laughed, lightly tossing her brown hair.

Midori got really annoyed as she plucked out her spear embedded on the wall. "You asked for it! Spear Boomerang!"

Of course, Rydia dodged it easily again. "Hahaha you're so funny, you know? Just keep on missing like that, and you'll win a gold medal! Ahaha! Now it's my turn! Backstab!"

In a flash she was able to go behind Midori and deftly shot her at the back using her bow and arrow.

Midori fell on the grass. It was not a fatal shot, but it hurt (of course) like hell, even more than the cut on her cheek.

"Like it, Midori? This is your second encounter with my special poison arrows. In half an hour the poison will go through your system and kill you. I could've just shot you in the heart but I like to see my opponents suffer before they die! Ahahahaha!"

She blabbered a little more, as Midori lay bleeding on the ground, who then drifted into unconsciousness.

--------------------

Akiru was watching everything that happened. He felt helpless as he saw Midori on the ground. Even if the poison didn't go in her system, she's really bleeding so much that she might die instead of blood loss.

He started pounding on the force field blocking his way. But it was no use.

Damn, I'm so useless over here! He thought resignedly.

And he continued pounding on the force field anyway.

--------------------

While Rydia laughed…

A cloaked man with black hair came out of nowhere and approached Rydia.

"The boss was right, you forgot what you came here for." He said coolly to Rydia.

Rydia then stopped laughing and said, "Yeah, and so?"

"You're. Supposed. To take. The girl." He said pointedly.

"Oh you mean Midori? Hahaha why would the boss want her? She's really useless. And besides I almost killed her, you see? And there's no way to reverse the process, as you of all people would know." Rydia said.

"You know the knight, huh? Oh well that doesn't matter. I was talking about the other one." He pointed to Hikari, who was still unconscious.

"Oh. Her? I dunno, but oh well. Let's bring her to the boss and let's scram!"

The man in the cloak lifted Hikari gingerly. "Ok then, I guess let's go…"

And both of them teleported away, taking Hikari with them.

--------------------

Akiru did not see the man and Rydia go away, but as soon as they left, he was able to break through (since the force field disappeared). He rushed to Midori at once, and tried to revive her, but it was no use. Fortunately there was still a pulse, but it was really weak.

When he finished checking on Midori's vitals, he then surveyed the scene. There was an arrow embedded on the wall, Midori's blood on the ground, and a crack on the wall, with her spear lying on the ground.

He also saw a piece of paper with a sketch of a spiral tower. He picked that up and stuffed it somewhere in his clothing.

And he also noticed that the white figure he saw with Midori was missing. It dawned on him. Don't tell me… they took that bimbo away? And they hurt Midori because of her? He swore loudly and colorfully.

They're gonna pay… But first I have to take Midori to the infirmary.

--------------------

Aoi stared at the necklace in bewilderment. She swears that it was a locket, not a necklace, but the place where she got the bezoar was gone.

Father Augustine shook his head. "No… that can't be…" he muttered.

"What, father?" inquired Aoi, curious.

He ignored her and said out loud, "I'm going to look for Hikari."

And he left the room.

---------------------

After a while…

Akiru came barging in the room with Midori in his arms. Aoi saw that there was a really ugly black welt on her cheek and that she was bleeding badly.

Before Aoi can react, Sister Lynna came into the scene and her eyes widened when she saw Midori.

Without asking any questions she immediately started working on Midori, shooing away all the people inside the infirmary (Akiru, Aoi, Ryo – maybe you forgot about him already…)

---------------------

After an hour…

Sister Lynna and Aoi finally came out of the infirmary. Akiru was feeling really down that time, worrying a lot about Midori (of course!).

"Akiru, Midori was poisoned by something unknown. I tried all my antidotes, including Aoi's, but nothing worked. And right now, I had no choice but to…" she started.

Akiru got even gloomier, dreading what he was about to hear. But he still said, "So she's…?"

"…currently in frozen state."

"W-haaa-t?" asked Akiru, clueless.

"I had no choice. It's the first time I tried it on someone… I stopped the time in her body… Basically she's still alive but in a forced coma. I stopped her body functions, and so that means that I stopped the poison from flowing in her body and her from losing a lot of blood. But…" she trailed off, unable to continue.

Aoi took it from there. "The body can only be freezed for a short period of time. I guess about a week at the most. After a week Midori's body will function once more and… everything that's supposed to have happened an hour ago… well… will happen."

Akiru did not need an explanation to what Aoi and Sister Lynna said. "So basically that means we have to find out what kind of poison poisoned Midori and find the antidote (since none of the available ones, even Aoi's, who was one of the best alchemists in Midgard) in less than a week."

Aoi replied, "Exactly. One of the first things we can do is look for Hikari and see if she can make that necklace work again or something… Make a bezoar appear again?"

Akiru looked down and said, "The poisoners took Hikari away. They were probably after her and they hurt Midori in the process…"

"If that's the case… then we have to look for Hikari." Said Aoi in a matter of a fact voice.

"What? We have to look for that bimbo?" Akiru exclaimed.

Aoi then put her hands on her hips and asked, "Do you want to save Midori?"

"Well… Of course! She's my best friend!" said Akiru.

"Then we really have to look for Hikari. Think about it. The people who poisoned Midori will most likely be with Hikari, so in a way we're killing two birds with one stone." Said Aoi firmly.

"Okay, okay… But what makes you think they're just gonna hand the antidote to us or give back Hikari?" retorted Akiru.

"Then we'll just have to force them." Replied Aoi, clutching one of her acid bottles strapped on her utility belt.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

End of chapter 7!

Whoa, a serious chapter. Once more I kinda rushed the story, so it probably doesn't make sense. /swt

BTW I invented the freezing the body time thinger. That's all I can think off… I have to keep Midori alive, you know? Hehehehe.

Well… there are some parts here that I left hanging… Like who is that guy in the cloak? How does Rydia know Midori? Who are the people in the beginning?

So far that's all that I can think of… You'll find out the answers in the later chapters.

Or when I get inspired again.

And did I forget to mention that reviews inspire me? Sorry, I'm really nagging on the reviewing thing, but I really need feedback on the story… Thanks…

-Kaylee (Ishtar)

P.S. I think there's gonna be a Part 4…


End file.
